Canadiana artist Joseph Swift immortalized Scottish-bred Clydesdale horses in watercolour
A rare, reunited pair of 19th Century paintings is being auctioned
While neighbouring farmers were ploughing and harvesting their fields with equipment hauled by Canadian-bred horses, the Graham Brothers of Claremont, Ontario had magnificent Clydesdales, imported from Scotland, in harness. Back in the 1880s, that was akin to turning down a serviceable John Deere today for a bolder Italian-crafted Lamborghini tractor.
Understandably, the Grahams wanted to preserve the images of their best Clydesdales and decided their investment was worth the price of an artist. Like other proud agriculturists, they engaged Joseph Swift (1832–1889), a respected painter who captured the likenesses of horses and other livestock in primitive or naive style. Appreciation for the Toronto artist increased over time and some of his works are now in the collections of the Canadian Museum of History, Royal Ontario Museum, the Sigmund Samuel Gallery and private collectors.
“Two signed Swift paintings of the Graham Brothers’ Clydesdales, Manfred and Royal Exchange, have been carefully preserved by people who enjoy and value Canadian folk art. The pair of paintings were parted for years but were happily reunited by an enthusiastic collector. We are honoured to be selling these rare works in our upcoming Firearms, Sporting & Canadiana auction on October 9,” says Ethan Miller, co-owner of Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd. in New Hamburg, Ontario.
When Swift began making his living as an artist, commercial photography was in its infancy. He found clients among prosperous farmers winning prizes for their exceptional livestock at the Toronto Industrial Exhibition (later the Canadian National Exhibition) and other events. Working in the British tradition, Swift painted in watercolour, periodically spotlighting his subject’s best details by using stencils and other techniques.
Clydesdale stallions made imposing subjects. Bred in the Clyde Valley on Scotland’s west coast, the huge, strong draft horses were primarily used for hauling, helping to advance agriculture and industry in the 19th century. Many Clydesdales on present Ontario farms are descendants of a small number of the original Scottish studs that began arriving in 1840.
The Graham Brothers and the numerous horses they purchased appear frequently in the Clydesdale Stud Book of Canada recorded by the Clydesdale Horse Association of Canada, as well as the Clydesdale Stud Book by the Clydesdale Horse Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Swift’s art enables viewers to now see the powerful proportions of original animals, significantly larger than modern Clydesdales bred today.
The painting Royal Exchange reveals an alert-looking black horse with two white hind feet bearing the breed’s distinctive feathering. The horse was imported from Scotland in 1880 by Richard Graham.
Manfred portrays a Clydesdale with a dappled chestnut coat and black legs, mane and docked tail. He was bred by Sir M.R. Shaw Stewart, Baronet of Ardgowan in Greenock, Scotland. The Graham Brothers brought the horse across the pond in 1883.
Both horses look quite at home, presented against a soft backdrop of green grass, blue sky and white fencing, representative of bucolic Ontario.
Around the time Swift was painting Manfred, fellow Ontario artist J.J. Kenyon (1862-1937) was capturing the image of another Clydesdale in oils. Titled Custodian at 4 years. Imported by & the property of James Chandler, Ayr, Ontario, the painting later journeyed to California, where bargain hunter Edward Cropley rescued it from a consignment store 20 years ago. He sent the painting to Miller & Miller’s auction in 2020, where it sold for $11,800 (CAN).
The two Clydesdale paintings that Swift was commissioned to paint for the Graham Brothers also travelled off the farm. “As with many naive and folk paintings, the charm and beauty of Manfred and Royal Exchange were seemingly lost on later generations of the Graham family who decided to dispose of them at a yard sale in the 1970s,” says the current owner and consignor.
“As luck would have it, Sally Wildman, an accomplished artist living in the Claremont area, attended the yard sale and with an artist’s sensitivity, recognized them instantly. She purchased both paintings,” he says.
Wildman parted with Manfred’s portrait several years later when approached by F.S. Henamader Antiques of Vineland, Ontario. The company eventually placed it in the Wolfgang Schlombs collection of important Canadian furniture and folk art. When the collection was dispersed in 1992, the current owner and consignor purchased it. He was elated to bring home the companion to the Royal Exchange portrait he had bought from Wildman in 1987. “Given the origins of both paintings, it seemed only natural they should be reunited,” he says.
Other paintings by Joseph Swift are documented in A People’s Art by Peter Mellon and other books focusing on historical Canadian art. Author Michael Rowan “is in the final stages of a highly anticipated opus on the life and work of Joseph Swift, which is sure to heighten the profile and significance of one of Canada’s most accomplished folk artists,” the consignor says.
Well-documented folk paintings of Manfred and Royal Exchange’s quality, rarity and condition seldom appear at public auction. The consignor is excited to learn where the Clydesdale portraits will reside next.
By Karen Paton-Evans
Karen Paton-Evans has been sharing stories since age three and writing professionally for Canadian newspapers, magazines and private clients since 1985.
Sale Details:
Firearms, Sporting & Canadiana
October 9, 2021 | 9am
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